Resting on the banks of the Mississippi River,and under the famous Arch, St. Louis, theGateway to the West, has been a wrestlingcenter for decades. The city has seenchampions all of shapes and sizes,competition on all levels, from high school toprofessional, and has seen promoters vie forthe profitable territory. The fans havebenefited from these battles, and have neverdone without. St. Louis saw championsLou Thesz and Bill Longson on a regularbasis and had promoters Tom Packs andSam Muchnick organize wrestling shows withunbelievable skill, providing the eager localaudience with a consistent stream of fineathletes and only the best matches possible.

One of the earliest major wrestling talentsfrom St. Louis was George Baptiste. Baptistewas born around 1865 to Greek parents, andwrestled as an amateur into his early twenties,even winning a tournament in 1889. He turnedprofessional, and standing 5’6’’ and weighing155 lbs, it was normal for him to take on opponents of greater stature. Extremely strong, Baptiste scored many victories on the mat, and performed stunts with weights, including raising 300 pounds from the ground with his neck, and lifting 500 pounds with one hand, eight inches off the floor. Baptiste competed in both the Graeco-Roman and in the catch-as-catch-can styles, but excelled in the former. During his career, he held a claim to the Missouri State and World Middleweight Titles.

Baptiste dropped matches to Dan McLeod and Farmer Burns, and had a key role in training fellow St. Louis wrestler Bernarr MacFadden (Bernard Adolphus McFadden). He traveled and trained with Max Luttbeg through the Midwest in 1896 and in 1899, his two week marriage to Nellis Kyle ended with the latter yearning to return to her hometown of Milford, Connecticut. Upon retirement from grappling, George maintained a training center outside of St. Louis, where both boxers and wrestlers worked out. He was also a businessman and returned often to referee matches into the 1920s.

A wrestling tournament was planned for St. Louis at Sportsmen's Park on June 8-10, 1883 and it was managed by B.D.M. Eaton. $500, and a gold medal, was going to go to the Greco-Roman winner and $250 for second prize. In the Lancashire catch-as-catch-can style, $150 for first and $100 for second.

On the afternoon of Sunday, December 14, 1884 in St. Louis, William Muldoon beat J.H. McLaughlin in a mixed match for a $500 side bet. Muldoon won the second (catch-as-catch-can), the fourth (side hold), and fifth (Greco-Roman). McLaughlin took the first fall (collar-and-elbow) and the third (back hold).

In the January 31, 1899 edition of the Brooklyn Eagle, there was a challenge printed from St. Louis wrestler Max Luttbeg. He was willing to meet any middleweight or lightweight in any style except collar and elbow, and he'd weigh about 132 pounds. He'd even wrestle Ernest Roeber, claiming that Roeber was a "fakir," and would "not meet him." Luttbeg was a former amateur champion.

St. Louis wrestler Albert Balz committed suicide on November 10, 1912 at 28 years of age. Balz claimed the 160-pound championship of New York state and was working toward a World Light Heavyweight Title match. A newspaper report in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune stated that Balz carried a diary in his pocket which "tells of unrequitted love for a girl whom he mentions as 'J'."

On March 10, 1922 in Joplin, Missouri, wrestler "Strong Boy" Price of El Dorado, Kansas beat boxer "Smiler" Adams in a mixed match. Both were middleweights. The match ended in the sixth round when Price gained a pinfall.

The Missouri State Athletic Commission was established in 1929. Longtime referee Harry Sharpe provided key elements to the writing of a firm wrestling code that would regulate professional grappling in the state and Tom Packs was issued promoter's license number one. The new laws went into effect in August.

On April 27, 1931, 15,000 fans turned out for a wrestling-boxing show at the St. Louis Arena promoted by Tom Packs, who estimated the gate at $35,000. Missouri Governor Henry S. Caulfield was in attendance. Profits were to go to the "citizens' committee on relief and employment."

On December 31, 1932, William Levy announced the suspensions of Billy Sandow and Everette Marshall. It didn't affect his upcoming St. Louis match because it was signed before the suspension.

William Schwabe was said to be the president and matchmaker of the "Midwest Wrestling Association" in December 1933.

The famed Kiel Auditorium, with a cost of $6 million, opened in 1934 with a capacity of 9,300.

In an odd situation, Ed "Strangler" Lewis requested to be recognized as the World Heavyweight champion based on his "questionable match" with Jim Londos in St. Louis on Thursday, January 31, 1935. The Missouri Athletic Commission denied his request.

On Tuesday, November 19, 1935, Ray Steele beat boxer King Levinsky in just 35 seconds of the first round of a mixed match. The estimated 12,000 fans in attendance were disappointed to say the least at the quickness of the finish. Levinsky claimed after the match that he was robbed, claiming that his shoulder was off the mat. The Associated Press reported that Steele was the "first world mixed bout heavyweight champion."

Dick Shikat, the man who double-cross the "Trust's" heralded champion Danno O'Mahoney, was suspended by the Missouri State Athletic Commission on March 23, 1936. The reasoning was an alleged breach of contract with Joe Alvarez of Boston, one of Paul Bowser's henchmen who claimed to have a solid contract with Shikat. It was also stated that Shikat refused to meet Ed "Strangler" Lewis on April 3.

Tom Packs was an avid fisherman and often went to Robertsville, Missouri on short vacations.

On February 8, 1947, KSD-TV became the first television station in St. Louis.

Sam Muchnick ran his wrestling organization under the guise of "Sam Muchnick Sports Attractions," and the partnership was owned 2/3 by Muchnick and 1/3 by Leo Ward. This organization "operates as a promoter, the same as does the Mississippi Valley Sports Club," according to Muchnick's July 1955 interview with Stanley Disney of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

During the conflict with Lou Thesz over the territory, Muchnick claimed to have offered to close out his booking office, and work for Thesz for $15,000 annually, as a publicity man. Thesz refused and promised to run Muchnick out of business within a year.

After the end of the Muchnick-Thesz war in St. Louis, both Sam Muchnick Sports Attractions and Mississippi Valley Sports Club owned "St. Louis Wrestling Enterprises," which "operates as a booker" for matches throughout the territory.

Charles W. Pian was involved in professional sports for decades in Missouri, and had a heavy hand in the wrestling game. In 1932, he was initially named Deputy Missouri State Athletic Commmissioner. To say Pian was heavily involved in the community is an understatement. He was involved with the St. Louis Consistory #320, The Shriners Moolah Temple, Naphtali Lodge #25-A.F. and A.M., Scottish Rite Club, Alhambra Grotto, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A., Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, forty-two year member of the American Legion, twenty-five year Gold Menorah Member of the B'Nai B'rith and the Elks Club No.9, Chairman of the Selective Service System, member of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, member of the Ozark Association A.A.U, 6th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, and the State Club Democratic of Missouri.

Following Packs' retirement from the wrestling business, he focused on his Ainad Temple Shrine Circus. Among his special features were Siamese elephants, Aida - the "Star in the Moon," Torrence the Viennese Sky King, La Tosca, and others.

Longtime St. Louis referee Babe Martin was a catcher for the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns. Another referee, Joe Schoenberger, obtained a wrestling license to officiate in Missouri in January 1959 (worked first match on January 9, 1959 - bout between Sunni War Cloud and Bob "Legs" Langevin). He was a former Army physical education instructor out of Belleville, Illinois, where he lettered in three sports (baseball, basketball and track) at Belleville High School. He was also a trainer at Harry Cook's famous Business Men's Gymnasium in St. Louis for 12 years. Schoenberger was the father of three daughters and sold insurance outside of the grappling business.

If a trivia question comes up, asking who was the longtime piano comic in the lounge at the Claridge Hotel in St. Louis, and a well known wrestling fan? The answer would be Davey "The Nose" Bold.

In early 1959, Muchnick was working to promote the high-profile boxing match between Don Jordan and Virgil Akins in St. Louis at the Arena on March 6. Around February 10, a tornado hit St. Louis and damaged the Arena.

Wrestler Otto "Whitey" Brexler died in June 1973 at Salem, Dent County, Missouri. He was born in St. Louis on March 20, 1898 (1899) and his real name was Otto George Brexler. He was known as the "fireman wrestling champion" in 1936. He worked as a fireman for Engine Company No. 11.

Longtime amateur wrestler Mileo Occhi was also a talented pro - and later a referee in St. Louis. Occhi was born on October 16, 1905. He won the Ozark AAU 165-pound title seven years in a row.